Reinforcing punch for sheets



M. A. Boer-:N Erm.'

April 29, 1969 3,441,462

REINFORCING PUNCH FOR SHEETS Filed Dec. 22, 1965 Fgyd ' v f f W ZM United States Patent O 3,441,462 REINFORCING PUNCH FOR SHEETS Morton A. Bogen, 19 Kay St., and Leonard Kantor, 44 Sullivan Drive, both of Jericho, N Y. 11753 Filed Dec. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 515,584 Int. Cl. B32b 31/00, 3.7/18

U.S. Cl. 156-513 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates generally to punches for paper and the like and more particularly to certain new and useful improvements therein.

It is known to mechanically punch holes in paper and similar sheet material for subsequent binding or mounting on posts or rings, such as in a looseleaf binder. Because of the weakness of the paper it becomes torn and the connection is lost. To avoid this condition, reinforcing rings of a suitable material such as paper, linen, foil, sheet resin, or the like, are adhesively secured to the border of the hole. This requires separate, time consuming, operations for each hole including applying or moistening the adhesive, centering the reinforcement ring, and pressing the same in place until the adhesive bonds.

It is, therefore, among the objects of the present invention to provide a device which automatically positions the paper, cuts a disk from a reinforcing strip, applies it to the paper in a predetermined position, presses the disk to adhere it to the sheet of paper, punches a hole -through both the reinforcing disk and the paper, discharges the waste from the hole, and advances the reinforcing strip, ready for the next cycle.

Another object herein lies in `the provision of a device of the class described which has provision for a replaceable magazine supply of reinforcing strip.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforcing punch for sheets wh-ich is convenient and simple to use so that it may be operated rapidly with one hand.

A feature of the invention is that parts subject to wear may be easily replaced.

Another feature is that :the present device may also be used for rapidly and conveniently forming and applying a reinforcement to a sheet having a preformed hole.

Another object is to provide a reinforcing punch for sheets which is of simple, fool-proof construction so that it may be manufactured in large scale at low cost and have a consequent wide distribution and use.

These objects and other incidental ends and advantages wil more fully appear in the progress of this disclosure and be pointed out in lthe appended claim.

In the drawings, in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE 1 is a central vertical sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, partly in elevation.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view as seen from the plane 2--2 on FIGURE 1.

ICC

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view as seen from the plane 3-3 `on FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view as seen from the plane 4-4 on FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged perspective View of the female die element.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of FIG- URE 5, showing the first die element.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view corresponding generally to FIGURE 1, but showing the parts in an altered position.

FIGURE 8 is an elevational view of an alternate form of punch element.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of an alternate form of reinforcement tape strip.

In accordance with the invent-ion, the device generally indicated by reference character 10 comprises broadly: a female die element 12; a punch element 14; means 16 to interengage the said elements; a reinforcement magazine 18; guide means 20 for the reinforcement; a body 22, a bolster element 24; a ram element 26; and reinforcement feeding means 28.

The female die element 12 is best seen in FIGURE 5 and includes a first or lower d-ie member 30, a spacer and sheet detent 32, and a second or upper die member 34. The first die member 30 is provided with an opening 36 having serrations 38, and is provided with a pair of mounting ears 40 which engage the opposite sides 42 and 44 of the body 22. The opening 36 -is of a size and shape equal to the perimeter of the reinforcement. The `spacer or sheet detent 32 is of a thickness at least equal to the thickest sheet 52 (FIG. 7) Ithat the device 10 is intended, to be used with. The die Imember 34 has Ian orifice 62 aligned with opening 36, and the leading edge 64 is chamfered to facilitate insertion of the sheet 52.

The punch ele-ment 14 includes a rst punch member 46 and a second punch member 48. Punch member 46, which coacts with opening 36 and second die member 34 respectively. Second punch member 48 has an enlarged head 49 with a slanted top surface to produce a shearing cut, and has a reduced shank 54 upon which the rst punch member 46 rides (see FIGS. 1 and 7). The first punch member is urged to its upper or outer position by a resilient means 56 (FIG. 1). The rst punch member has an internal ange which coacts with the head 49 to prevent it from going beyond a predetermined relative position (FIG. l), and it has a shearing cut against the serrated edge 38.

The means 16 to interengage the die and punch elements may take the form of the pivot 16 which serves to interconnect the two halves of the body 42 and 44 and about which the ram element 26 pivots. The pivot 16 also passes through aligned holes 66 in the ears 40 serving to hold the die assembly unit 13 (FIG. 5) in place under the top portions 43 of the bolster element.

A reinforcement 50 is cut from an elongated strip or tape 51 of suitable material such as paper, linen, foil, or sheet synthetic resin and is provided on the upper surface thereof with an adhesive 53 of the pressure sensitive type such as rubber compound or encapsulated adhesive. A supply 66 may be a coil thereof in the magazine 18 having a top wall 68, a rear wall 69, curved bottom wall 70, front wall 71, tape exit 72, curved flange 73. The coil 66 has the adhesive side out, and rides on a hub 74. The magazine 18 has two sidewalls 19 and a pair of horizontal ribs 17 which ride in corresponding ways 76 which project inward from the sidewalls 42 and 44. The ribs 17 have small projections 77 which snap into suitable depressions in the ways to detachably retain the magazine 18 in place.

The tape 51 is fed rearward (arrow 78) while supported in opposed grooves 79 of the guide means 20, by the reinforcement feeding means 28 which includes feed wheel 80, and idler 81, wheel 80 has a resilient gripping periphery 82 which compresses the tape 51 against the anges 83 of idler 81. This is seen in FIG. 3 where the tape has been omitted. Idler 81 is rotatably mounted on a retainer lever 84 which is pivoted at 85. When pushed down against the tape 51 the axle 86 is rearward of the center of axle 87 so that movement of the tape pulls the idler 83 down to enchance the engagement. The wheel 80 is caused to step feed the tape a predetermined amount and to move in the direction of the arrow 87 by the pawl 88 connected to ram element 26, and dog 89. The tape is fed on the clockwise motion of ram element 26 (the return stroke caused by spring 90 after a reinforcement application). The rear end of spring 90 is anchored at 91 in the body 22 and the forward end at 92 in the element 26. Forward travel of the element 26 is limited by the projection 93 striking the detent 94. The waste tape after it emerges from the device may be torn off against the serrated edge 98.

The operation of the above described embodiment of the device is as follows: The device 10 is operated by squeezing and releasing, by hand, the handle 95 and outer shell portion 96 of body 22. This causes -a relative motion between the handle and outer shell. FIGURE 1 shows the device 10 during a stroke with the male dies shown just below the female dies. The tape 51 from which the reinforcement 50 will be formed and the paper sheet 52 in which a hole will be punched and a reinforce., ment applied, is positioned between the male and female dies. As the handle is squeezed further the following sequence takes place: First the male dies pass through the larger female die causing a section to be cut from the adhesive tape 51. This section is carried to the paper, pressed against it and adhered to the paper. Further pressure on the handle causes the resilient material 56 between the two male dies to compress, the smaller male die goes through the smaller female die While the larger male die remains pressed against the smaller female die pressing the said section of adhesive tape 51 against the paper (in the case of a tape coated with an encapsulated adhesive, this action causes the capsules to break and release the adhesive substance). The relative motion between the smaller male die and the smaller female die punches a hole in the tape section and the paper, forming an annular reinforcement of the adhesive tape and a hole in the paper. The punched out sections 100 of the tape and paper are discarded (FIG. 7).

In the particular version of the device illustrated, the advancement of the adhesive tape to an unpunched area is accomplished during the last part of the release stroke. When the handle is released the pressure of the loaded spring 90 causes a relative motion between the handle 95 and outer shell portion 96. The male dies, being attached to the handle, came out of the female dies along the same path by which they passed through the female dies. When the male dies are just below the tape, the pawl 88, attached to the handle engages one of the teeth of the gear or sprocket causing the gear and the attached rubber lagged drive-wheel 80 to rotate. The tape 51 being held between the drive wheel and the freely rotating pressure wheel 81 is thus caused to move rearward pulling a new area of the tape from the tape roll 66 and positioning it between the dies ready to repeat the action previously described.

When the paper sheet 52 or other material is removed from the device after the described action is completed, it will have a hole punched in it and said hole will have an annular reinforcement surrounding it.

Turning to FIGURE 9, in order to lessen the tendency of the adhesive material on the tape to interfere with the feed passage of the tape 151 through the device said tape will have the adhesive coating 153 along the center of the tape. The width of the adhesive track will be the same as the large diameter of the reinforcements to be formed. The adhesive track is along the entire length of the tape. The tape is uncoated along each edge at 155. The width of each uncoated edge may be approximately 1/s. The fianges 83 engage edges 155. Thus, the tape is pulled along by the pressure exerted on its two uncoated edges 155.

Turning to the alternate for-m of the punch element seen in FIG. 8, for the purpose of avoiding needless repetition, certain of the parts are given the same reference characters with the addition of the prefix 2. This form differs from the first form in that the resilient means 56 is omitted, with a consequent loss of its function. The result of the loss of this function is an initial upward cupping of the tape before a section is cut from the tape which ymay cause excessive distortion of the reinforcement in the case of some tape materials. This may be contrasted with the earlier described form Where a sharp cut is made without distortion or upward cupping.

We wish it to be understood that we do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates.

We claim:

1. In a device for si-multaneously applying a reinforcement to a sheet, and forming an opening in said reinforcement and said sheet, said device employing a reinforcement tape in strip form from which individual reinforcements are formed, the improvement comprising: a yfemale die element having a first die member, said member having a lower surface and an opening, and a second die member with an orifice smaller than said opening juxtaposed with respect to said opening; said first and second die members being spaced forming a sheet receiving area; a punch element having a first punch member of a size to coact with said orifice; said punch element and said die element being arranged -for relative engagement and disengagement; means to engage said first punch member with said first die member and said second punch member with said second die member; said first and second punch members being resiliently associated whereby said last mentioned means consecutively engages the first punch lmember .with the first die member acting to cut a reinforcement and to press the reinforcement against the sheet, and subsequently the second punch member with the second die mem-ber,` cutting a hole in the reinforcement and the sheet; said tape being contained in a feeding magazine on one side of said punch element; feeding means on opposite side of said punch element, said reinforcement being cut from said tape to leave a strip of scrap, said feeding means incrementally pulling said scrap upon the completion of operation of said punch and die elements, whereby said strip is advanced only by tension imparted to said strip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 503,966 8/1893 Higgins 83-621 2,441,821 5/1948 Kendall 156-513 2,627,212 2/1953 Connor et al. 156-514 3,289,509 12/1966 Cahill 156-513 DOUGLAS J. DRUMMOND, Primary Examiner.

U.S. C1, X-R. 83-621 

